Once More Into the Breach

Ussama Makdisi

December 2009

Makdisi reviews:

Rashid Khalidi, Sowing Crisis: The Cold War and American Dominance in the Middle East (Boston: Beacon Press, 2009)

Patrick Tyler, A World of Trouble: America in the Middle East (London: Portobello Books, 2009)

I had to laugh at this line:

"Even the most conservative type of history -- US diplomatic history, which has traditionally eschewed serious cultural analysis -- has belatedly embraced facets of Said’s thesis."

Khalidi is on point here:

"Khalidi’s book highlights some essential points necessary for an understanding of the US relationship to the Middle East. The first, and most obvious, is oil. The United States became interested in the region because of its strategic significance, which itself was largely a function of Saudi Arabia’s oil reserves. During the Cold War, therefore, the US formed the basis of its domination of the region. It did not so much compete with the Soviets as it did exert extraordinary negative influence over the area. Here Khalidi reverses a theme of American diplomatic history that has taken for granted: US policymakers’ obsession with containing the spread of Soviet influence, as if US imperial interests in the region were themselves defensive or a reflection of the natural order of things."

What an insult to Machiavelli:

"According to Khalidi, the United States, is a Machiavellian, yet often a shortsighted, great power."